NCP MLA Churchill Alemao Alleges Goa Casinos Are Fixed, Demands Locals be Discouraged From Entering Casinos

Political woes for Goa Casinos continue to mount with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Churchill Alemao (cover image) the latest to raise some serious concerns about the operations of casinos in Goa.

“We have to stop locals from going to casinos,”he said asking the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to look at the payout ratio and how the roulette tables are ‘fixed’ in casinos.

The lone NCP legislator took part in a discussion on the motion in the assembly recently and said that the current 90:10 per cent casino payout ratio in Goa is not healthy. He added that it is leading to many Goans going bankrupt and demanded that the payout ratio should be at least 50:50.

Stating that there was no mention of casinos in the Governor’s speech, the legislator felt he stands in a good position to speak on it since he understood the casino business better than any other member of the house, having visited casinos during his seafaring days.

Alemao demanded that there should be an entry fee of at least ₹5,000 if locals want to enter casinos in order to discourage them and even cited the example of Singapore, which has increased the casino entry fee for its citizens.

Without mentioning any names, Alemao said that he knew about three businessmen from Panaji who became bankrupt due to casino gambling. “We do need revenue, I understand but let there be some restrictions on Goans entering casinos. Our Goan youth are getting addicted to casino gambling and this is destroying many houses. I know about a suicide case too,” he added.

He also said that there are certain casinos in Goa where people can enter for free and said that people with just ₹500 in their pocket consume alcohol there and fight with their family members after going back home.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA Pratapsing Rane urged the government to decongest River Mandovi after the recent incident of the sixth casino vessel MV Lucky Seven getting stranded off Miramar beach.

Rane said, “There is another site (to shift the offshore casino vessels). We can show you (government) and make it a tourist place. But don’t allow more vessels in the river. Soon mining will start (full-fledged) and barge operators are not happy with the blocking of the river channel,”